Show from waste plants scientists in many lands have been an increasing amount of atten alon to tho problem ot producing from the plant world substitutes for the fibers and fabrics now generally in use to find a new cotton plant or a new bax straw or a fiber which shall the place of wool or silk or to put among commercial possibilities a new material from which to ture fine paper are among the alms four inventors have recently reached what they claim to be success each in bis own particular search and bons of their products showing bow widely varying results are at talked are printed in the technical world magazine from ramie a nettle which came originally from china but which grows well in various countries made a fabre fibre which rivals cotton tor usefulness and has same of the beau bics tics of silk flotd the huge cactus leases of our american deserts a kind of fabric called cactus leather Is manu fractured which while not a substitute lor cowhide Is useful tor many of the purposes for which genuine leather Is used pine needles are albo being made to furnish a fiber which has qualities of usefulness in cloth making even clothing being successfully manu fractured from it and finally the guayule shrub has been found to con tain rubber to an extent which makes it commercially worth farming the region of luderitz bay where the great diamond find Is reported Is in the extreme southwest of africa in a section known as damara land or it has a coast line of miles on the north Is guinea and the british possessions surround it on the south and east the country some years ago came into the possession of the germans in the mountain region it Is fertile and in spots wheat can be raised copper and iron are said to be abundant but the country has been prospected but little as regards the mineral wealth since the germans have been in possession some attempts have been made to work the country Wind hoek is the principal town in the northern section the diamond many miles from the town and near the coast in a section of country not known heretofore to be rich in dla monds it Is hundreds of miles from kimberley and the other diamond producing centers of tho british south african possessions the country is sparsely populated excepting with sav ages washington hag a new local law which guards rigidly the employment ot boys and girls an age limit Is provided and careful provision is made for investigation as to the physical condition of those permitted to work examinations just completed at the national capital go to show that out of 1700 children subjected to the legal tests the physicians rejected 75 boys and only two girls this Is held to be conclusive evidence that the girls are healthier than boys no doubt the freer physical life which girls lead and the opportunities for exercise in the open air which they now enjoy in striking contrast to past experience nave had much to do with improving their constitutions dut why do not the boys live up to the same eriv dieges lieges one does not bear it said so often as formerly that there are no longer such opportunities tor young men as were open to their grandfathers leslie M shaw formerly secretary of the treas ury in speaking of his return to active commercial life the other day ex claimed oh the opportunities that there are in this country for the young man of push and enterprise they are almost limitless to me the field of business is as alluring as any romance ever written there are always new chapters opening new characters developing ve new plots thickening this Is he kind of calk that has taken the place of the old wail over the good times that have passed contracts for furnishing single and double teams to the city of boston were recently awarded to a woman her bids tendered in open competition with men were by tar the lowest sub matted and she demonstrated her aall ity to fulfill the obligations the award was popular tor the uniformity of the figures submitted by the men gave color to the charge that an agreement bad been made among them to main tain a certain price the woman made her own figures independently and won to mrs ida D richardson of mew orleans has been awarded the pica loving cup by a committee ft the progressive union as tho citizen who Is thought to have done most for the public and welfare during the last year some of the leading shoe deairs in hl cago predict that many women in that city will wear sandals this sum some of the dealers have al ready laid in big to meat tha demand which they expect |